Bird Talk Flyby

Musings, travels and tidbits for the pet-bird world from the editors of Bird Talk

Friday, July 27, 2007

A Little Piece of My Heart

Our pets are so very much a part of our family. Just thinking about loosing one of them can move you to tears.

I’ve received quite a few frantic emails from bird owners about birds that have flown away the past couple of weeks. Prevention is a great starting point to making sure that this doesn’t happen to your bird.

Bird-proofing the room and making sure that all doors and windows are closed before you take your bird out of the cage is an important part of prevention. Another part is making sure that you have current photos of your birds and updated information on them available. This includes color markings, numbers on leg bands, any special physical descriptions and any other specific details that would help distinguish your bird.

A microchip is another way to help you find your bird if it gets lost. But, as an owner, you need to make sure that the information on that microchip is always up-to-date. I'm currently working on a new section that will provide our visitors with a Lost Bird Flyer template and tips on what to do if your bird has flown off.

I did receive two E-mails from bird owners letting me know that they had been reunited with their birds. Now that is a happy ending and a great way to go into the weekend.

On another note, I received a very heart wrenching and upsetting E-mail from my dad earlier this week. Nine parrots were stolen from a local aviary in the town that I grew up in. I interviewed Samantha, the owner of the aviary, and found out that one of the birds that were stolen was her pet hyacinth macaw, Lilly (pictured above right), which she hand-fed and raised since it was 19 days old.

Samantha did tell me that she has received a lot of help from members of the bird community around the world. Bird owners from England to all over the United States have pulled together to help spread information on the nine stolen birds by passing around posters and E-mails.To read the article posted on BirdChannel.com, Click Here >>

I’m sure that you will all join me in having high hopes that they are returned safely to her.